Chapter 3--Of Broken Windows and Long Journeys



The last thing that he could remember was shouting, "There are too many of them! We must run!" They had Gated out, and...pain. Broken glass. Now where was he? Benjamin had little time to wonder; his injuries were substantial, and he soon collapsed from loss of blood. In fact, he was very lucky. He had managed to land in Matt's Lab, in the Pokemon World. Matt himself had just left on a journey, but Cat and Mark would care for Benjamin until he regained consciousness. -o-o-o-o-o- Matt, meanwhile, had just been thrown off course. One moment, he was calmly Gating toward the great libraries of Oceania, the next...he hit the floor--hard. He had no idea where he was.

"Mereow!" A mangy cat had just leapt onto his head and begun to scratch him. Matt groaned and tried to sit up.

Suddenly, a voice spoke. "Alleybones, stop that!" Someone removed the cat. Matt looked up. An old man with spiky gray hair protruding from underneath a hat and strange purple eyes stood over him. "Are you all right? How did you get in here?"

This was Yuugi's grandfather. He knew of other Worlds, but he was somewhat in denial. He suspected that Matt was another of the strange people who continued to arrive in his game shop, but one never knew. He could be a customer. Solomon Mutou's eyes slid to the nearby counter. There was a substantial, head-shaped dent in it, and it was covered with blood. The wood floor had cracks where Matt lay.

As Matt stood up slowly, he looked around. "What are all these displays?" Yuugi's grandfather decided to believe, for now at least, that Matt was a customer. And so Solomon Mutou explained to Matt the rules and strategies of a card game called Duel Monsters. Matt purchased some cards for the sake of politeness (he had smashed the man's counter), and because he believed in learning about the cultures and rituals of Worlds he visited. Besides, he did like card games... Matt stepped outside. Looking around, he saw that a battle must have taken place recently. "Martin, DNA test this blood sample."

The small, blue box at Matt's belt spoke after a moment. "The DNA is similar to Totodile, but how can that be? Also, there's a human blood sample here. Two, in fact. Or at least, I thought so. The second one is similar to human, but it appears to be a hybrid..."

At once, Matt knew. "Benjamin." He stepped back inside. Looking on the wall, he saw a picture of a child. "Who's that?" Matt asked.

"That's my grandson, Yuugi. He's not here right now; in fact, he just left yesterday with a child named Benjamin..."

Matt looked up sharply. So Benjamin had been here... "Do you have any idea where they went?"
The man shook his head. "No, but I do know that they were trying to rescue some friends of Yuugi's. They said something about the Overlord, and the Clanners, but I don't know anything about that. He left this note."

Matt quickly scanned the short, hand-written note. Benjamin and I have gone to rescue the others from the Overlord. If we don't come back, we've been captured. If the Lieutenant returns, use my deck.
-Yuugi

Hmm...what could the cryptic message mean? "Thank you. I have to go." Matt hurried outside. He had to find out what had happened to the two children. "Martin, it's time we returned home." -o-o-o-o-o- When Matt reached his lab, Cat was waiting for him. "Hey, Matt! You're back from your trip already? A boy smashed through one of the windows. I don't know who he is, but he looks like a Guardian. Mark said his name was Benjamin."

Benjamin was already here? Maybe his Gating Device could be used to trace Yuugi! When he found Benjamin's Gating Device, however, it was obviously useless. The small, blood-encrusted metal oval was smashed. Wires stuck out everywhere, sparking slightly. It looked like this would have to be done the hard way. Matt thought hard. Where could he go next? Suddenly, he remembered. The Clanners! They might just have a clue.

"Martin, get ready to Gate to the Clanner's World. We have some friends to rescue."